


Truth, Justice, and a Relaxing Diner

by DaBossMan



Series: MHA x DC [1]
Category: DCU, Justice League - All Media Types, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 23:42:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16820806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaBossMan/pseuds/DaBossMan
Summary: Superman, the Symbol of Hope, meets All Might, the Symbol of Peace, and the two talk about their respective worlds, adventures, families, friends, trials, dreams, and fears.





	Truth, Justice, and a Relaxing Diner

**Author's Note:**

> Hello dear reader!  
> First thing you should know, this is NOT my story. I found this posted on Fanfic.net by the author Aros001, and seeing as it wasn't here, I decided to bring it here to share this awesome story. All credit goes to him. With that out of the way, enjoy!

(Art by edCOM02)

“What can I get the two of you today?” The friendly waitress asked as she took her notepad out of her apron.

The darker haired of the two loosened his tie, coming to his final decision.

“Apple pie a la mode.”, his Japanese nearly perfect, but with the slight hint of midwestern in his accent betraying the fact that he was indeed as American as he looked.

His friend on the other side of the booth gave a small snort of a laugh.

“Really? You come all the way to the Kanto region and you order something you could get at home?” the blonde man asked, still with a healthy chuckle, which helped ease the waitress somewhat as his very thin appearance made him look quite sickly. Perhaps he just had some strange body-fluctuation Quirk like Fatgum’s and that’s why his clothes were so loose on him.

“It’s actually a fun little hobby I’ve developed over the years.” the more formally dressed man spoke, this time in English. “I’ve been tossed into so many different alternate worlds that, when I’m able, I like to sample their versions of apple pie and see if I can taste any difference. I once had a slice in one world that almost tasted exactly like Root Beer, if you can believe it.”

The thinner man, being the only one to actually know English and understand his friend, was quiet for a moment, seriously thinking through the very idea of such and interesting concept, his hand slightly stroking his pointy chin.

“I’ll have your apple pie milkshake, please.” He finally made his order to the waitress. “As blended as you can, if you so please.”

The waitress finished writing and gave a smile with a short-headed bow. “We’ll have them out to you as soon as we can.”

Both men gave their thanks to the waitress as she made her way back to the diner. Though the milkshake order gave the American feel slightly overcome by a sense of awkward guilt.

“I’m sorry Toshinori. When I recommended we go out for a bite to eat, I wasn’t thinking-”

“It’s alright Clark. Trust me.” Toshinori waved the needless apology away.

“Honestly, I’m glad you asked. Most people who know about my double life are too mindful of my injury to invite me to tag along to anywhere with food.” He said, lightly patting the spot on his left side.

“The substance itself can’t stay with me for long without a stomach, but flavor certainly isn’t something I’ve lost my fondness for.”

“Well, that’s good to hear, at least.” Clark said, rubbing the back of his neck as he still felt bad for not being more considerate. The battle must have really worn him out.

“Actually, I did have a small experience where I lost my sense of taste.”

“Oh?”

“Oh no, nothing bad like you’re thinking.” Clark quickly added, having to hold some of his laughter in check as he remembered the incident.

“Green Arrow had made a batch of his special curry for the JL potluck. Both Canary and Hal warned me that I couldn’t handle it, and I didn’t know what I was getting into when he challenged me to have some. I didn’t listen and ate a spoonful.” Clark almost felt his tongue still burning as he jovally retold the story. “All the spices Arrow put in overwhelmed my super-senses so bad I couldn’t taste anything for a week! To this day, Ollie loves telling people how he managed to burn out Superman’s sense of taste without the use of kryptonite or red sun rays.”

“Ha!” That got a good laugh from Toshinori, Clark’s own chuckles becoming infectious.

“Alright, that’s not a bad one. But let me ask you; would you rather taste nothing, or just one thing continuously?” He asked with a smirk, getting Clark’s attention.

“I didn’t even realize anyone remembered this incident, until I overheard some people in a crowd talking about the _Vinegar Suicide Incident_ , as the internet has been calling it. A couple of years back, there was a middle schooler who fell into a river and was in danger of drowning. In his panic, his Quirk started turning the water around him into vinegar, which only made it harder to swim. I was able to save him of course, but by the time I got back to shore, I was completely soaked in vinegar. My eyes were burning and I can only imagine how I looked smiling and squinting at the cameras. I couldn’t even see them! After my patrol, I went back home and spent the entire night and the next with a full bottle of mouthwash, brushing my teeth just trying to rub the taste of pure vinegar out of my mouth!”

Both he and Clark cracked up at that, Toshinori really having to control himself to keep himself from bulking up in his habit of laughing too much.

“I hope the child was ok.” Clark said, drinking some water to help his laughter simmer down a bit.

“Oh yea, he was fine. Poor kid felt really bad about my eyes, but I think I was able to cheer him up. After all, thanks to him, my skin looked 10 years younger!” Toshinori quoted himself as best he could remember.

His last bit of chuckles finally dying down enough for him to talk, Clark commented “Well thankfully, my experiences with vinegar haven’t been that bad. One of the first times I visited Gotham for a story, I had a run-in with a villain calling himself the Condiment King. Literally, a self-declared villain who tried to use ketchup, mustard, and pickle relish, and yes, even vinaigrette as weapons. I didn’t have to hurt him to get him to stop harassing people, but I felt like I was picking on the guy when I brought him to the police.”

“I think I once encountered a minor menace with a similar gimmick, though his Quirk just let him shoot some tomato by-product out of his fingertips.” Toshinori remarked. “Not complaining, I suppose. It’s generally a good thing not all villains are not like this Brainiac I helped you defeat.”

Clark’s face grew a touch less jovial at the mention of one of his oldest villains. “Well… I’m just glad we stopped him when we did. Brainiac caused enough destruction and death with his convergence of universes within our bubble of the multiverse. I don’t want to see what would happen to someone else’s universe if they got dragged in with his madness.”

It was now Toshinori’s turn to awkwardly rub his hand through his mostly unkempt mess of hair.

“Jeez. Aliens and alternate worlds. The world is still trying to figure out how Quirks work. Throwing those into the mix…” He shook his head as he just imagined all the panic and chaos such a revelation would bring.

“... Never thought I’d be glad that the media thinks the truth is just an elaborate hoax. It actually wouldn’t be the first time someone used their powers to play the alien prank. I know it’s not my place, but the world is just… not ready for such a thing.”

“My world barely was. And that includes myself.” Clark commented sympathetically.

“When ma and pa first told me the truth about who I was and where I was from, I subconsciously rejected the idea. It took me years to fully come to terms with the fact that I was from another planet.”

“That being said, it would really revamp all the conspiracy theories about where Quirks come from.” Toshinori said, smiling and shaking his head in disbelief.

“I’ve heard everything from a government super-soldier project gone awry to a contagious virus spread by mice. Last I checked, aliens were number seven on the top ten list.”

“You should see the History channel back on my Earth. Ever since J’onn and I made our first public appearance, _Ancient Aliens_ spawned all kinds of constantly running spin-offs. The worst part is that some of the more crackpot sounding theories proved to be true.” Clark chuckled as he took off his glasses to gently wipe the dust off the lenses. Toshinori was somewhat impressed that he was able to hold something so frail that he didn’t even really need so gently.

“Is Quirks being the next step of evolution one of those theories?” Clark asked as he put his glasses on.

“It’s number three if I’m remembering right. The mice one is the top theory right now.”

“Probably take my bias with a grain of salt, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the reason. Not only do we have the Metagene back home, but I’ve been to a reality where many people are simply born with mutant powers, very similar to your Quirks, and it was that very explanation, as far as I could tell from my short time there. Thankfully, you all seem to handle the existence of Quirks a lot better.” Clark remarked as he looked out the window, spying a man with snake fingers just casually talking with his friend who had a cactus for a head, not even a moment’s glance as a family of three flew by on leather wings.

“It’s probably just because superpowers and mutations are the norm here. Even if aliens aren’t something they can handle yet, everyone is so different that the differences are given more of a chance, whereas in the mutant’s universe, and sadly my own, people keep lashing out in fear and keep the numbers in the next stage small.”

“It wasn’t always like this” Toshinori said with a heavy sigh, his world’s past clearly weighing on him somewhat.

“For a couple generations after Quirks and superpowers became a thing, societal progress basically stagnated. Normal humans were just as afraid of Quirk users as they are of your mutants and metahumans, whether it was fear of the unknown, fear of being replaced, or delbrite fear put in them by people who would profit off of the chaos such lawlessness created. Before superheros came supervillains, and people like All for One.”

Clark recognized the deep look of contempt behind Toshinori’s eyes as he spoke. It was the same look Lois would point out that he had whenever he talked about Luthor.

“I… have to admit… When I saw that Brainiac was trying to track down All for One, the person whose Quirk allowed him to steal and use other people’s Quirks, I was tempted to let him go.” Toshinori confessed hesitantly, his fingers drumming slightly against the table in shame.

“We’ve just had so little luck in finding him ourselves, and with everything I know he’s capable of doing… I was about willing to risk everything just for a chance to catch him…” He trailed off slightly.

“But you didn’t.” Clark pointed out, knowing full well what it was like to beat yourself up over things you only thought about doing.

“I couldn’t have brought Brainiac down without your help. When we were rescuing the hostages, whatever you might have been tempted to do, you still didn’t hold back and did everything you could to save him.”

In truth, Toshinori was grateful for the other hero’s words, though small pangs of guilt remained.

“One of the main things that snapped me back to my senses was seeing Brainiac learn about One for All through young Midoriya. Seeing him kidnapped with all those he wanted to absorb the knowledge of, it quickly sent me into a rage.”

“I certainly understand the feeling. I’m a father myself after all.” Clark remarked, giving a small jump in his seat when Toshinori’s back suddenly stiffened and some startled blood came spilling out between his teeth.

“W-wait! You think I’m…?! No, no, I’m young Midoriya’s teacher! He already has a father, though he never talks about him, only his mother.” Toshinori rambled red-faced, his stuttering and more spastic flustered moments actually bridging more gaps for Clark between the Symbol of Peace and that green haired boy who’d excitedly been asking about his powers the other day.

“Hold on… Is that how we come across to others?” Toshinori asked himself with some embarrassed whispers and a nervous sweat, thinking back on every interaction he had with his successor and certainly seeing now what it must have looked like.

“Uh…. Sorry, I didn’t mean to…” Clark started, trying to slide Toshinori as he didn’t seem to realize just how much blood was spilling down his mouth.

“Sorry. It’s just that you two have a lot of similarities. Not really in appearance but how you both acted while in the fray and the similarities of your powers. When Brainiac was talking about how One for All was a power transferred by genetics, I just assumed that Izuku had the same powers because he was your…” Clark stopped a little short again, seeing how he was making the man’s thin face already flushed with pink.

“But you being his teacher makes just as much sense!” He quickly added on to diffuse the uncomfortable situation he’d unintentionally put them in.

“Certainly explains the battle cries. The way you both yelled _Detroit Smash!_ As you attacked.” he said with a light laugh.

“... Hey you alright?” Toshinori asked, coming at least somewhat out of embarrassment noticing how Clark rubbed his cheek at the memory.

“Hm? Oh yea, I’m fine. My jaw is still just a little sore from where you socked me, that’s all. You pack a mean right hook.” Clark explained, trying to show that it wasn’t that bad.

“Yea, I’ve been meaning to apologize for that. Usually I’m a lot better at not jumping the gun and mistaking another hero for a villian. Even in such an unusual place as an alien spaceship, that’s no excuse.”

“Well that’s probably because of my universe leaking into yours. Anytime any of us meet someone new, it almost always breaks out into a fistfight.”

“Still, it’s not like you didn’t get a little payback on me. Your freeze breath scared the crap out of me.” Toshinori chuckled.

“Heat vision seemed a little like overkill.”

“Probably literally.” Toshinori joked.

“Though, you seem to have a pretty good grasp on your powers. Gives me some hope that the Quirk Singularity is still quite a ways off.”

“The Quirk Singularity?”

“It’s just something Nezu and some of the other faculty of UA talk about sometimes. Since Quirks tend to mix together and get stronger and more complex with every generation, there’s this idea that someday we’ll get to the point where no one can control their powers anymore. To be honest, it’s not a theory I gave much mind to until Midoriya came along.”

“Because of One for All.” Clark accurately guessed, Toshinori getting reminded about comments from Tsukauchi about how surprisingly perceptive members of the media can be.

“Yea.” He nodded his head.

“I had no trouble using One for All from the get-go, and as far as I know, my predecessor didn’t have much of a problem with it either. Before he developed the Full Cowling technique, I was worried I’d given him way more power than he could ever handle. Due to the stockpiling aspect, young Midoriya is theoretically more powerful than I was back in the day, but that’s a moot point if he can’t use the power without hurting himself.”

Clark rubbed his chin with his palm, thinking over his own history of out of control powers.

“I was once exposed to a special kind of kryptonite that made my skin translucent. The amount of solar energy absorbed increased at least ten-fold and thus, so did my powers. I could hardly move without creating a windstorm and I couldn’t turn my heat vision off.”

“How did you manage to deal with it?” Toshinori asked hopefully.

“Unfortunately, not in a way that could help Izuku with One for All. Far as I can tell, the fundamental difference between our stockpiling abilities is that I’m constantly absorbing solar energy and giving it back off in various forms. Once I was a safe enough distance from anyone I could hurt, I just let my heat vision fully unleash, trying to use up all the solar energy faster than it could replenish before the Kryptonite wore off. But from how you’ve described One for All, it’s just one continuous power level that’s been built up by all those who’ve held it before. The difference is like a fire hose and a light bulb.” Clark said apologetically.

“Even if it wasn’t, with Recovery Girl putting her foot down to not heal any more of Izuku’s self-inflicted injuries, I can’t exactly have Midoriya firing off 100% of his power punches until his body gets used to it. Not that I ever would ask him to do something like that.” Toshinori quickly waved off the idea, feeling slightly ashamed of the state of his student at the UA sports festival.

“Just as well…” He continued with a heavy sigh.

“Even if his powers didn’t hurt him, I still didn’t want him near all this until at least his three years of UA were up.”

“Is All for One really that powerful?”

“Even more. Probably much more, given how many Quirks he’s probably been stockpiling since we last met. And beyond that he…” Toshinori stopped for a moment, it had never gotten easier to talk about what happened.

“He… he killed my master. The person who held One for All before me. Nana Shimura.”

Clark could see the visible heartbreak on Toshinori’s face.

“I’m… I’m so sorry.”

Toshinori sat in sudden silence for a long moment.

“...When I finally confronted All for One, I was at the prime of my abilities, the strongest I had ever been. Even then, it took all I had to knock the sucker down, and I just barely survived the surprise attack that let him escape. Ever since that injury, I’ve gotten so much weaker. I was barely able to defeat the Nomu he specifically created for his lackey to use to kill me. If I were to face him again now, I don’t know if I could beat him. I would certainly try, but if I were to die…” Toshinori said, feeling a crippling spike in his side.

“Then the burden of taking your place would fall to Izuku.” Clark said for him, to Toshinori’s slight surprise. That hadn’t been what he was about to say, but now that he thought about it, the man’s perceptive guess summed up his fears a lot better.

“Yeah…” The thin man said with a sad sigh, his tired, shrunken irises looking to the world outside the window.

“I’ve always wondered if I push young Midoriya too hard, or unintentionally making him push himself too hard. He genuinely wants to be a great hero, but even after all this time, he still sees me the same way everyone else does. The invincible Symbol of Peace. The shadow I cast, I feel like he can’t see his own greatness because my own presence was blocking the way. When young Midoriya finally did make progress with One for All, it was because of Gran Torino, the man who trained me, finally got through to him, showing him that he was trying to hard to emulate me instead of doing things his own way. He can’t just… see himself past my ideal. I haven’t been able to help him enough like my master did for me, and if I were to fall now and leave young Midoriya alone… After everything I know he’s capable of, I don’t want him to face an evil like All for One yet, if ever.”

Toshinori went quiet again, the clear weight of the world on not just his shoulders, but HIS world as well. Clark had seen the same feeling of helplessness in too many other heroes he’d fought beside over the years. Though he’d never want to admit it, probably for the same reason the man sitting across from him never would, he’d personally known the feeling too.

“... It’s not quite the same thing, but I have had a battle I never thought I’d come back from.” Clark started, regaining Toshinori’s attention.

“It wasn’t a man. It was monster from space. Nothing short of a mindless killing machine name Doomsday. At the time, it was the most powerful being I had ever fought. It tore through Metropolis and all other members of the League that tried to stop it like they were nothing. The slightest graze of the bones on his knuckles cut me deeply, while my strongest blows barely slowed him down.”

Toshinori noticed that Clark’s eyes were trying to avoid looking at him directly, or anything other than the booth’s table as he recounted the event, terrible images playing in his head that he wouldn’t dare say out loud.

“Eventually, I was able to stop it, but I was beaten so badly the world thought I was dead. Even I thought I was dead. My body had slipped into a healing coma to try and salvage what was left of me, but if it hadn’t been for what was left of Kryptonian technology, I would never have recovered. And when I eventually came back, I found out that there had been some people who had risen up since I fell to take my place. The world had mourned me, but it had started to move on. For awhile, that brought me some comfort, that the world won’t stop because something happened to me. But then…”

“Then you had a son.” Toshinori said, it now being his turn to see the unease in the other man’s face.

Clark only gave a single nod.

“... I was flattered and proud as any father could be when Jonathan threw on his own S-shield across his chest and declared himself Superboy, but even then… I was worried. More than anyone, I know how much Superman can overshadow a lot of the things in the lives close to me. Eradicator, Mr. Mxyzptlk, Manchester Black. Our entire life in Hamilton County got turned upside-down simply because of the life I lived since donning the cape. Even Jon’s best friend is the son of my own, another man in a dangerous life. He’s complained yet, but… I want him to be able to have a life outside of my own, and if something were to happen to me, another Doomsday… I’m afraid that Jon would push himself into being Superman just to pick up where I left off; a thought that scared me since he was first born.”

The space between the two became noticeably silent and heavy. That battle aboard the ship must have really worn them out, if they were confessing such fears to each other when they had just met each other the other day.

“Jeez. I thought us old geezers were only supposed to spend our days complain about kids these days, not being worried that we’re passing the burden on too soon.” Toshinori stated with a long sigh as he leaned back in his chair.

“We’re not that old Toshinori.”

“Speak for yourself. I accidentally called Gran Torino an old man when my master introduced the two of us, and he never let me live it down.”

The bit of levity was appreciated, but still, neither men could find it in them to talk for the moment. But some life did return when the waitress did.

“Sorry for the wait fellas. The ice cream machine has been acting up all week.” She apologized sincerely as she placed the milkshake and pie down

“I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait.” Clark said, eyeing his crisp, golden slice of pie, the ice cream just starting to melt from the heat.

“Will there be anything else today?”

“No, we’re fine. But thank you.” Toshinori answered as his palms enjoyed the cool of his shake.

As the waitress bowed and left, Toshinori noticed Clark slightly pull down his glasses and stare at the wall on the other side of the kitchen.

“What’s the problem?”

“Their cooling unit is giving out. Thankfully, it’s nothing to replace the whole machine over. I’ll make a note for them when we leave.”

Toshinori gave a small chuckle.

“X-ray vision was about the third power I saw you pull out on Brainiac. I’m actually a little jealous, especially of the flying. I’m always scared I’ll damage the rooftops and roads while I’m jumping around.”

“Funny enough, some of my more extreme powers didn’t develop until later in my life. For the longest time it was just super strength and invulnerability, and this isn’t me being humble, but it was definitely not at the same level as yours is.”

“Again, you should have seen me in my hayday.” Toshinori smirked, making a fist.

“Two or three hits and I would’ve brought that ship down all by myself. Still, it wasn’t all bad. Got to see Midoriya almost faint when you and I threw that final punch together. You might have noticed the kid’s got a bit of a hero worship thing going on. I’m still trying to convince him to get rid of the hood that looks like my hair.” Toshinori laughed at the memory, but Clark could tell by the color of his sunken cheeks that he was flattered to the point of embarrassment at how much the boy admired him.

“Toshinori, that thing you said when we arrived to save the hostages; _I am here_. It’s almost like a practiced statement. Was that something you got from Nana Shimura?” Clark asked, getting the other man’s attention.

“Not the phrase itself, I came up with that. But my master is definitely the reason for it.” Toshinori explained, sipping his shake through the straw with little effort.

“The greatest lesson she imparted on me was that heroes don’t just save people’s lives, they save people’s hearts. The smiling, the phrase, even the name; All Might… it’s all to help people feel reassured, that everything’s going to be ok because I’ve arrived.”

“I had the feeling it was something like that. It just… reminded me of something my parents used to say to me. They were farmers, so they knew the importance of planning ahead for the future, but they always told me to never let that keep me from being in the present. Some people are best planning ten steps ahead-” Clark started, a small, sad smile on his face

“And some make the biggest difference by being there.” Toshinori finished for him, finding a soft smile as he remembered where those words came from.

“I have the feeling my master would like your parents.”

“I can hardly think of someone who can’t.” Clark said, knowing he was biased, but he didn’t care. 

“My biggest regret in life is that they passed away before meeting their grandson. Now more than ever with Jon, I realize how it couldn’t have been easy to raise me. Ma and Pa didn’t have any powers. They couldn’t truly understood what I was going through, and yet, every time I’m at a loss at what to do next or how to help Jon with his problems, I just think back to the long talks with Pa and I would have out in the fields and I’m just amazed at how much easier things were to bear because of him.”

Clark looked at Toshinori.

“You know, as much as you’re worried about getting in Izuku’s way, he’s probably still incredibly grateful to have you there for him, even beyond the hero worship. Whatever pressure he might be feeling, from what I saw, he’s able to deal with it because he’s not alone.”

After a moment of pause, Clark’s words gave Toshinori something to think about, which he did, taking a long drink of his shake.

“Out of curiosity, since we’re discussing mine, do you have a catchphrase of your own?”

“Hmmm… One, I suppose. But it’s from a loooong time ago. Around when I was starting to learn how to fly.” Clark admitted, the slight red in his cheeks told Toshinori that he was embarrassed, which only peaked is curiosity even more.

“It was something I mostly said to help prepare myself before beginning the initial flight. Though, as time went on, I became a little self-conscious about it and stopped using it in front of other heroes.”

“The various Smashes I yell were actually something similar in my training to help me focus my power.” Toshinori noted before grinning.

“But don’t leave me waiting. What did you say?”

“Well… um… ahem… ahh…” Clark gave an awkward cough and closed his fist.

“Up, up, and away.”

Toshinori burst out laughing, thankfully not transforming, but spraying enough blood for Clark to be concerned about the other man’s health, and making people believe he was drinking a strawberry shake instead of an apple, though the unsettling amount didn’t seem to faze Toshinori.

“Welp, I think it’s no debate that mine’s better.” He remarked jovally, getting a napkin to wipe his face.

“Still, it’s got a nice ring to it. I might be tempted to use it sometime.”

“You have my full permission.” Clark said, also chuckling.

“I did used to say it with more bravado and confidence, but if you’ve ever heard Green Lantern’s oath, or Captain Marvel’s SHAZAM, you’d understand why I feel the bar’s been raised. Though, there was another phrase, though it was never used by me.”

“Oh yea?”

“Yup. It was ‘this looks like a job for Superman’.”

“Well, now I’m kind of envious our little convergence crisis didn’t take me to your Earth. Sounds like a fun time.” Toshinori said, taking a sip of his shake to hydrate himself.

“You know, if we’re taking this moment to share advice…” Toshinori started, getting a raised eyebrow from Clark.

“It’s the thing about this world, where everyone has powers, but not everyone can be pro heroes, be it by circumstance or by choice. Young Midoriya, I feel, emulates me too much for his own good sometimes, but his reasons for wanting to be a hero are his own. When he faced off against young Bakugou and young Todoroki, I like to think he wasn’t thinking of me at all, that it was his own drive to help others and be the best that pushed him forward. Likewise with your son, as worried as you are about him being consumed by the life you live, he wouldn’t stay as Superboy for long if he didn’t have his own goals attached to it. Maybe just as how young Midoriya is now starting to realize Deku is more than All Might Jr, young Kent already sees Superboy as something other than the son of Superman.

Clark was stunned. He hadn’t considered that mindset before, probably because he was afraid things wouldn’t be that simple.

“... That friend I mentioned before… I’ve actually been tempted to talk to him about some of this stuff, since he knows how it feels. Thinking about it, I can see him saying something similar, though probably a lot more blunt and abrasive, but still meaning well.”

“How so?”

Clark paused for a moment, to Toshinori’s surprise, it was because he was holding back a small laugh.

“Well… Batman would probably start the conversation by telling me to get over myself.” Clark started as he ate another slice of pie.

It took a moment, but once the words registered, Toshinori almost snorted out his milkshake.

“Sorry, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be laughing.” Toshinori said through his small giggles.

“It’s just… your friend reminds me of another very ‘rationally’ blunt, nocturnal hero I know.”

“Maybe each universe has a quota to fill.” Clark jokingly shrugged, both men happy the conversation took a lighter turn.

“How’s the pie, by the way?” Toshinori asked as he was almost at the bottom of his milkshake. Clark looked at the half-eaten pie, then paused to consider his answer.

“Tastes about the same as home.”

“Yea, well… familiarity isn’t always a bad thing.”

Clark nodded, as he couldn’t agree more. But before he could reply, he heard something; an engine rumbling, which was getting louder rapidly. A second later, and a man came crashing through the window of the booth next to them, four small spinning wheels occupying where his feet should’ve been. Even to the two surprised heroes, the man moved remarkably fast and wasted no time, speeding to the cash register and ripping in off, then rolling back through the restaurant's double doors. Waiting for him was a mob of other people were waiting, with a similar set of wheels, be it on their arms, legs, or even back in one case.

“Damnit. Road Rippers.” Toshinori spat as he slammed enough yen on the counter to cover the check.

“Road Rippers?” Clark asked as the two made their way out of the restaurant while everyone else was panicking.

“They’re a family of delinquents, all with similar Quirks.” He explained as they entered an alleyway that no one could see them in.

“They tend to specialize in petty smash-and-grab robberies and petty vandalization. They’re an impatient lot, but not completely stupid. If they’re acting up here, it’s because there isn’t a pro hero in the immediate area.” Toshinori explained, expanding his muscles to bulging size, stretching his previously baggy clothes to their limit.

“Quite the unlucky day for them, wouldn’t you agree?” All Might asked, his voice far more bombastic, and his wide smile the brightest thing in the alleyway. Clark removed his glasses and soon tore off the business suit, revealing a bright red cape, and a shining yellow plaque, with the crimson “S” proudly on display.

“My vibrational frequency is still stabilizing. I’ve got about ten, fifteen minutes before I go back to my world. Helping you out wouldn’t be the worst way to spend that time” Superman informed, looking up to the giant of a man he now called friend.

“Hmmm… perhaps a tad unneeded, but it never hurts to have backup.” All Might said, nodding in agreement and rubbing his square jaw.

“Though that being said… ever since our daring escape from the exploding ship, I have been wondering which of us is faster. Care for a little competition _Man of Steel_?” All Might challenged.

“You sure you know what you’re asking for _Symbol of Peace_? I’ve held my own against the fastest of my world. Maybe I could give you a handicap and not even fly.” Superman retorted confidently.

“An opponent who’s certain of their victory is bound to make a mistake.” All Might replied as he stretched.

“I believe I said that on a TV interview once. Needless to say, if I don’t hold back, are you certain I won’t leave you in my dust?” All Might asked, letting his friend see the determination in his azure eyes.

“Only one way to find out.” Superman answered, reaching into his now torn business suit and pulling out and American penny.

“When the coin hits the ground. If I win, I get to use your catchphrase.” Superman said, setting the terms.

“Agreed. And if I win, you have to go back to yours.” All Might added his.

With a grin and a nod, the visitor of this world tossed the coin up in the air.

“Ready…” Superman started, getting into a crouching position to get a better start.

“Set…” All Might added, the coin now reaching its max height.

With a metallic _clank_ , the penny hit the pavement.

The twin “GO!”s were lost to the whirlwinds. Two sonic booms erupted through the alley as the two wide-smiling heroes burst through it, the villains soon to be quite horrified as to what was about to hit them.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! If you liked this be sure to tell the author, here's the original work:  
> https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12986704/1/Truth-Justice-and-a-Relaxing-Diner


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